These commodities are available for processing under AEPCOMM from
26 August 2019 post completion of the Continued Biosecurity Competency (CBC) activity 19-20/02: AEPCOMM Expansion. From this date the relevant BICON pathways (AEPCOMM user access) will also be updated to reflect the changes.

Please note that due to the import conditions changes for fresh garlic for human consumption (IAN 100-2019), the commodity group Fresh garlic and garlic shoots is out of scope of the arrangement from 26 August 2019.

Continued Biosecurity Competency for the AEPCOMM Expansion

If you are an accredited person operating under the AEPCOMM approved arrangement, you are required to undertake CBC training prior to using AEPCOMM for clearance of the new commodities.

A recording of the webinar held on 26 August will be available on the Training and accreditation for approved arrangements webpage from 29 August. Please ensure you have access to the Requirements and conditions for approved arrangement class 19.2: automatic entry processing for commodities (v8.0) document when viewing the webinar recording.

Assessment for this session will be managed by CBC providers/relevant industry associations. Your assessment must be completed by 1 December 2019 and prior to using AEPCOMM for clearance of the new commodities.

Broker approved arrangements

The requirements and conditions documents for the broker approved arrangements (Class 19.1 and 19.2) have been updated with some significant terminology and format changes. Copies of these documents are now available on the Requirements for operating approved arrangements webpage under class 19. We have also published comparison guides which are available below. These highlight the changes to the requirements and conditions from the previous version of the documents.

The updated requirements and conditions for broker approved arrangements have meant we updated the Compliance classification for broker class approved arrangements. Please ensure you are familiar with the current compliance classifications. There has been no changes to the classification ratings, the document and webpage have been updated to remain current to the updated broker approved arrangement policies.

If you believe there are any concerns with your ability to comply with the class 19.1 and class 19.2 requirements and conditions documents you should advise us via Broker administration.

The AEP Reform team has been working closely with the Seasonal Pest Policy team to ensure commodity groups affected by Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) measures (currently in scope of the AEPCOMM) remain available under the approved arrangement during the 2019-20 BMSB season (1 September – 31 May inclusive). You can find detailed information on BMSB measures on the
Seasonal measures for brown marmorated stink bug webpage.

In preparation for next season, we are addressing some issues and limitations experienced for AEPCOMM lodgements during the 2018-20 BMSB season. This includes:

system improvements to reduce the number of AEP processing errors for multi-line declarations containing a mixture of BMSB high risk and risk target goods or goods from emerging BMSB risk countries

incorporating AEPCOMM notices and AEPCOMM codes into the relevant pathways within the BMSB hitchhiker pests BICON case (as per other BICON cases where AEPCOMM applies).

Industry support

We encourage businesses to make the most of their broker approved arrangements while assisting them in complying with requirements. If you need support with the AEP process send your queries via email to
AEPSupport@agriculture.gov.au.

If you are an accredited person under AEPCOMM you must use your BICON AEPCOMM user access when determining if a commodity and pathway are in scope of the arrangement. This BICON function was developed to enable you to determine the appropriate biosecurity outcome and AEPCOMM code to enter in the system for a particular import pathway.

If you need to get AEPCOMM user access, you can find Task cards on how to register in the
Help section of BICON, under Account registration and maintenance.

The following task cards will assist you with the lodgment process changes brought by the AEP reform. Please note the task card: Lodging AEPCOMM consignments has been updated with additional information.

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.